Watch: Recovery Act benefits ice cream shop

Vice President Joe Biden called the owners of The Penny Ice Creamery to discuss how the Recovery Act benefitted their businesses.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was passed to help reinvigorate the economy. Although it has been more than a year since the legislation was signed into law, businesses across the nation are still reaping the benefits. On Monday, Vice President Joe Biden made a call to Kendra Backer and Zach Davis to discuss how they have benefitted from the Recovery Act.

Backer and Davis are owners of The Penny Ice Creamery in Santa Cruz, California, a shop that prides itself on using regionally-sourced and organic products. They uploaded a video to YouTube about the $250,000 Recovery Act small business loan they received. Thanks to the loan, the duo was able to open a homemade ice cream shop despite the fact that the nation was in the middle of an economic crisis.

To open the business, they hired an architect, designers, builders, a variety of other contractors and employees to staff the store. This is just one example of how a single Recovery Act award can affect multiple businesses in a positive manner. After watching the video, Vice President Biden decided to call the pair to congratulate them on the opening of The Penny Ice Creamery.